Ulron - the aftermath
by Phillip Hicks
Summary: A Stass Allie centred storyline The aftermath of 'Learning Curve' The first inbetweener of 'Learning Curve' and "The Storms of Arratak.'


An ominous cloud hung over the Uron plains. It hung low, the heavy grey clouds crawling towards the village on the far side. The long brown grass leant away from the coming storm, their stalks crackling against each other in the wind. A clap of thunder shook the ground, and the dark sky was lit up by a bolt of lightning, sizzling across the sky. Stass stared up at the grey skyline, her hand trailing down across the familiar hilt of her lightsabre. The moon disappeared behind the storm, and she sighed. The conditions were prefect. The past attacks had happened in similar conditions.

A loud, repetitive thump came from behind her and she turned to see the village elder walking up behind her, leaning heavily on her walking stick. "Are they coming yet?"

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Stass frowned, "No, I'm sorry."

"Perhaps…", the elder's greying skin creased in fright as the thunder rumbled again, "I don't like that. The storms have never been this bad here."

"I'm afraid that it will only get worse, Mistress.", Stass turned back to face the plains. "I suggest you shelter everyone inside."

The repetitive thump came again as the elder retreated back towards the village. Stass smiled. She liked the Ulron. They were diminutive, but they were one of the most respected species in the Republic. They were content to allow anyone to land on their world and leave again without paying fares or fines, as long as the natural landscape was left untouched. Of course, there were areas that were… out of reach of the common traveller. Uron was one of three emergency Agriworlds. In case of a drought or a lack of food, the Ulron had several underground fields that produced grain all year round, and was stored in secret silos underneath the villages. So it was concerning when the villages fell under attack from pirates.

She pressed her commlink on, "How are the canyons looking, boys?"

"They seem to be alright, Stass.", Her partner's voice crackled slightly as the next wave of lightning hit, "We could've used your padawan here though."

"Caloc is still recovering, Kenobi.", she rolled her eyes. "You should be concentrating on your own padawan. He's only just been released from Doctor Nema's care."

"I know that.", Obi-Wan replied, "Our speeders are fuelled and ready to go. Just chase off those pirates and we can see who is behind this whole plot."

"I know.", a quiet humming noise had caught Stass' keen ears. She listened for a minute before unclipping her lightsabre from her belt. "I think the show is about to begin."

A small squadron of speeder's appeared out of the grass, their chasse blending in with the brown grass surrounding them. She could hear the pilot's whoops and yells even from the few kilometres that separated them. Her lightsabre hissed as she flicked the ignition switch, the green blade glowing brightly in the stormy sky. As one, the pirates noticed her and turned their speeders toward her. Laser bolts flew through the air towards her and she batted them aside. The leader, a feathered Dallenor, levelled his blaster at her chest and squeezed the trigger. Instead of deflecting it, she leant slightly to the side, watching the bolt slide passed her chest. The speeders slowed before her, the pirates circling her cautiously.

The Dallenor stood in the seat and glared at her, "Who are you? Jedi?"

"Indeed I am.", Stass levelled the glowing green tip at his chest, "My name is Stass Allie of the Jedi Order. You will no longer terrorise this village."

"Very formal, Jedi!", the Dallenor smirked, "I am Ingeon, Leader of the Tuun Gang. We are here to ransack the secret treasure troves beneath this here village."

"Treasure?", Stass rubbed her chin, "I was not aware of any treasure in this village."

"Then your Republic doesn't share everything with you as I thought.", Ingeon grinned, "We shall see where the treasure is, shan't we."

Caloc would have seen that as the opening line of a fight, Stass knew, but this was not the plan, "Turn back now and you won't be harmed, Ingeon."

"Ha!", the pirate chuckled and pulled out his long-handled knife, "I think not. The Republic's extremely devious They hide things from you that you didn't even know they had. Aren't you curious why?"

"I think not.", Stass reached out through the Force and pushed one of the speeder's away from her. The group scattered, the pirates spreading out and firing their blasters at her. She leapt over the heads of the nearest pirates and onto the back of one of the speeder's, slicing through the engine block. Vaulting away, she slashed a Falleen's arm off. Spinning on her heel, she deflected another bolt into another speeder's steering fins, sending it careening into the field.

She could hear Ingeon screaming over the screeching metal and she pushed out with the Force, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Ingeon screeched out again, "Fall back! Fall Back! Get back to the ship. We can wipe them out using the cannons."

As one, the speeder's turned and hurried away, disappearing into the grass. A sudden wave of agony hit Stass and she collapsed to the ground. Shaking it off, she looked after them and clicked her commlink. "Obi-Wan, the pirates are retreating. You have the green light."

* * *

The water bubbled, cool and calm into each of the three bowls. Stass sat down on the hardened dirt, legs crossed, commlink and lightsabre on the ground in front of her. The pain she had felt before was still present, and she let out a deep breath she didn't know she had inside her.

"That sounds like someone wanting the weight of the galaxy off their shoulders"

Stass opened her eyes to see Obi-Wan leaning casually against the doorway, mud and grass seedlings stuck to his robes. He held his lightsabre casually in his hand and sat beside her. She gave him a grimace, "I am… not feeling well, Obi-Wan."

"Not feeling well?", a smile crept through the thin auburn beard that covered his face, "My old Master used to say that a Jedi not feeling well is a sign that they aren't allowing the Force to fully envelope them."

"That doesn't have anything to do with me, Obi-Wan.", Stass frowned, "I've felt this way ever since Menach. I think that Tyrannus had a worse effect on me than I thought."

"I don't think its you.", Obi-Wan frowned at her, before taking one of the bowls from the fountain and sipping the contents, "Is it just me or is the water sweeter here?"

Stass stared at him, "Seriously, why do you do that? You say something really insightful right before you get entirely off topic."

"Fine, then.", he put the bowl down under the running water again, "There is something about you that has changed recently."

"Yeah?", Stass huffed quietly, "What do you think that was? The terror of finding a traitor in the midst of the Jedi? Or the fact that we don't even know that much about him?"

"Honestly?", Kenobi hit a rock away with the back of his hand, "It's the fact that you have a padawan now."

The ground trembled slightly, and Obi-Wan backed away a little as Stass pointed her index finger at him. "You do not speak of Caloc, Obi-Wan."

A little uneasy at the firmness in her tone, he gulped, but decided to continue speaking. "You and your padawan are extremely close, Stass. You have already made a connection. That will be both your strength, and your weakness. He is hurt, and at the moment he is healing. But you are still on the battlefield. You can feel his pain even from worlds away."

"So, I broke the rule about attachments, huh?", Stass sunk back to the ground.

"It is a risk we need to endure when we get a padawan, my old friend.", Obi-Wan smirked, "We lower our defences to let someone else learn from us. It is both a privilege and a burden."

"Caloc is hurting.", Stass frowned, "I need to be with him, but the Council wont allow it. I don't know why either."

"Because you are like you own Master.", Obi-Wan grinned, "Qui-Gon told me about him. Fierce, skilled and needing to fight his way through his problems. I guess that's where you get it from, huh?"

"Guess so.", Stass gave the beared man a smile, "But the problem is that Caloc is that kinda person too."

"What does Qui-Gon have to do with this, Obi-Wan.", She frowned, her tendrils shaking angrily.

Obi-Wan chuckled, "It seems that both your padawan and my Master liked to take… unnecessary risks, and make unusual acquaintances."

Stass smirked, "Your Master always seemed like a calming influence to me. He wasn't one for long, pointless arguments."

He nodded at that, "He could not stand the traditional ways of the Council. He got injured many times over the years disobeying them."

"And again, what does that have to do with me?", Stass asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged, "The point that I am trying to make is that Qui-Gon and I were very different, and this made our connection… unorthodox. You already seem to have a great bond. Just trust that he will heal AND come back to you. I'm certain he has a healing circle to go through he shall learn not to run headlong into fire."

"I seriously doubt that."

* * *

**Hello again, readers. **

**I am not dead. Just busy. As promised, the first short of the aftermath series. It may take a while for me to get these up at the moment as I have found myself getting distracted with _Jedi Fallen Order_. It is seriously addicting. However, they are coming. Hope you enjoy. **

**Don't worry. there will be a lot more action in the next one.**


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